Mark Madden: Saudi-backed LIV Golf is good for the sport

Athletes compete professionally to make money. The more cash, the better. That’s the primary reason. Anyone who says different is lying.

How much money is enough? That’s for the individual to decide, not you.

There’s very little real legacy to be had. You’ve got to be Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan.

Halls of fame don’t pay the bills. They’re overcrowded and overrated. Championships and MVP awards are mere baubles. Fun to win, but not real currency.

Those realities agreed upon, the Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour is the best thing that’s happened to the sport in forever.

Moralists rightly point to the Saudis’ shameful track record for human rights violations and specifically the 2018 murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi. Words like “deplorable” and “abomination” only scratch the surface.

But that’s nothing to do with golf.

Anyway, in the United States we like to overlook the darker parts of our history, such as when a bunch of slave owners declared that all men are created equal. We also ignore how American multi-billionaires amass their fortunes.

Those playing the morality card when it comes to LIV Golf are mostly using that to disguise what really upsets them, namely a jolt to golf’s status quo.

Dustin Johnson reportedly got $125 million to sign with LIV Golf. Phil Mickelson allegedly got more, perhaps near $200 million. That sort of money trivializes whatever sponsorships either golfer loses, and has already lost.

Looks like those jumping to LIV Golf will be eligible to play in the four major tournaments. They will not be able to participate in the Ryder Cup. Hearing talk about “representing your country” in golf is even more laughable when it occurs on D-Day.

It’s reminiscent of the 1972 hockey Super Series, when Canadian pros played Soviet “amateurs” for the first time. Those who had signed with the nascent World Hockey Association were stupidly ineligible to play for Canada, most notably Bobby Hull. NHL players only.

Dumb then, dumb now. A national team is a national team. An athlete’s employer shouldn’t matter.

But that’s how petty things like this get. It would be shocking if the PGA didn’t pressure the four majors to exclude the LIV tour’s golfers. (The U.S. Open said that those participating in LIV’s first tournament can still play. This year.)

Those joining LIV will be villainized. Mickelson won’t care. He’s used to that.

LIV Golf has good ideas: 54-hole tournaments. A team concept blended in. A shotgun start, which seems ideal for television: Everyone is on the course at round’s beginning. (LIV’s TV deal is modest: It’s on YouTube and Facebook. That will change.)

Most important, LIV has huge payouts.

The total purse for the U.S. Open is $12.5 million. The winner gets $2.25 million.

LIV Golf’s total purse for each of its eight events is $25 million. Each winner takes home $4 million.

LIV Golf is different. Different is good.

Every big-time sport has ultimately benefitted from rival leagues. The WHA, American Football League and American Basketball Association all changed their games for the better. Steph Curry owes his career to the ABA, which spawned the 3-point shot.

Rival leagues also make sure the players get their fair share. That’s really what bothers the PGA and has ignited the echo chamber of the obsequious golf media.

For golf, the LIV tour is opportunity knocking.

Tiger Woods didn’t answer. Nor did Jack Nicklaus.

LIV CEO Greg Norman said that Woods declined a “high nine digits” offer to join LIV. Nicklaus reportedly turned down $100 million to take Norman’s job. (Woods’ presence would have made LIV the bigger tour immediately. LIV should up their offer.)

Some think Woods and Nicklaus are bigger heroes for having refused.

But Woods and Nicklaus were heroes already.

Johnson, Mickelson, etc., are a lot richer.

They were among the first to sign with LIV. They won’t be the last.